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Joseph Stalin is greatest individual of all time, according to Russians

LiveMint 26-06-2017AFP

Moscow: Russians have picked Soviet dictator Joseph Stalin as the greatest figure in history, a new poll said Monday, beating President Vladimir Putin into joint-second place alongside poet Alexander Pushkin.

In the poll conducted in April by the Levada Centre independent pollster, Russians were asked to pick the ten greatest individuals of all time.

Stalin came out on top with 38%, while Putin and Pushkin shared second place with 34%.

Revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, Tsar Peter the Great and the first man in space, Yury Gagarin, came next, with former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in last place with 6%.

The list includes famed statesmen, writers and scientists but only three foreigners: Napoleon Bonaparte, Albert Einstein, and Isaac Newton.

Stalin topped a similar poll back in 2012 with an even higher score as Russians focus on his role in winning World War II rather the millions who were executed or sent to prison camps under his rule.

Putin’s percentage was the highest since he began appearing in the poll in 2003.